To date, receipts and other types of records of commercial transactions are issued in a paper format. However, with the development of electronic commerce, many of the receipts for online commercial transactions are being issued in the form of digitized electronic receipts.
Meanwhile, when a person procures merchandise overseas or purchases souvenirs during overseas travel, that person may encounter an unexpected trouble during the procedures for boarding an airplane if the person has purchased a large amount of merchandise. Typically, purchased merchandise is taken back to a hotel and repacked into a suitcase, a bag, or the like. Thus, whether the purchased merchandise can be stored into the suitcase or the bag can be checked visually on the spot.
However, the weight of the purchased merchandise cannot be measured without a scale. Therefore, for example, when a large number of small-volume cosmetic items or the like are purchased, even if the dimensions of the carry-on baggage meet the limit, a situation may occur in which the weight of the baggage is over the weight limit set by an airplane baggage allowance guideline and is not allowed to be carried into the cabin, or the weight of the baggage may be over the weight limit of free check-in baggage to be loaded into the cargo compartment of the airplane, thereby incurring an excess fee. In the worst case, the weight of the baggage may be over the maximum weight limit of check-in baggage.
In other words, when a large amount of purchased merchandise is to be brought back by an airplane, if the weight of the baggage is over the weight limit of an airplane baggage allowance guideline such as the one illustrated in FIG. 15 or FIG. 16, an excess fee may be incurred, or the baggage may not be allowed to be loaded into the airplane. FIG. 15 illustrates the content of the guideline for baggage to be carried into an airplane cabin and indicates the size and the total weight of baggage that can be carried into the cabin. FIG. 16 illustrates the content of the guideline for baggage to be checked into a cargo compartment of the airplane and indicates the upper limits of the number of pieces, the size, the volume, and the weight of baggage that can be checked in and the excess fees to be incurred when the baggage exceeds these limits.
When the total weight of the purchased merchandise is not known, a passenger may need to pay an excess fee during the procedures for boarding an airplane due to a slight weight difference. Alternatively, when a large amount of merchandise has been purchased, a passenger may need to go through the boarding procedures while being unsure of whether all the purchased merchandise is there and may find that all the merchandise has not been brought back only after arriving home. To prevent such a situation, for example, Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Publication for Patent Application, No. 2011-524051 of Patent Literature 1, titled “payment receipt processing method and system using receipt store,” discloses a technique that, for example in a case of travelling in Japan, makes it possible to grasp all the items purchased after arriving in Japan with the use of an electronic receipt system. Specifically, the technique described in Patent Literature 1 provides such a system as described below.
First, upon an electronic receipt for purchased merchandise being generated on the basis of a commercial transaction, the electronic receipt is transmitted to a server, or a receipt store, on the cloud. The receipt store, serving as a cloud service, can provide a customer with a variety of services related to electronic receipts. For example, the customer can access an electronic receipt for that customer by accessing the receipt store on the cloud and acquire various pieces of information on purchased merchandise.
In addition, for example, in a case of a commercial establishment, such as a retail store or a hotel, a system for carrying out a commercial transaction can be configured with the use of a point of sales (POS) component, such as a cash register, connected to a device reader. The customer carries a customer device that stores a profile of that customer. The profile includes payment information, such as a credit card number, other account number, or electronic money, and can further include information on a contact address that indicates the location of a receipt store to which an electronic receipt for the customer is to be transmitted. The device reader can read out profile information from the customer device. As a result, the POS component or the device reader can transmit the electronic receipt for the customer to the receipt store specified in the customer's profile.
The electronic receipt can be transmitted in a variety of ways. For example, instead of transmitting the electronic receipt from the POS component or the device reader, as another option, in a case in which the device reader is capable of bidirectional communication with the customer device, the device reader may transmit the electronic receipt generated at the time of a commercial transaction to the customer device, and the customer device may store a copy of the electronic receipt into the customer device and also transmit the electronic receipt to the receipt store on the cloud.
The electronic receipt can include any level of details regarding the commercial transaction. For example, in a certain credit card commercial transaction, details at an item-by-item level in the commercial transaction are provided to the credit card issuer, and the availability of this data is utilized to provide the customer with a highly detailed receipt. In such a case, the customer can access this detailed level of details via the receipt store thereafter.
FIG. 17 is a system configuration diagram of an electronic receipt system described in Patent Literature 1 described above as a system configuration example in which an electronic receipt can be generated and transmitted to a receipt store. An electronic receipt system 100 illustrated in FIG. 17 includes a device reader 106 and a Point of Sales (POS) component 110 that are installed at a physical location 160, such as a store, and also includes a customer device 104 that a customer 102 visiting the store uses and a receipt store 118 on a cloud 120.
In FIG. 17, the customer 102 is a customer engaging in a commercial transaction. For example, the customer 102 is in a state of purchasing merchandise or a service at a store where the customer 102 is physically present. Items to be purchased include any type of merchandise or service.
The customer 102 has the customer device 104. The customer device 104 stores a profile of the customer 102 in a digitized form. The profile includes various pieces of information that can be used by the customer 102 to engage in a commercial transaction. For example, as the profile information, the customer device 104 stores credit card information, other account information, or information on electronic money to be used by the customer 102 to pay for purchased merchandise.
The customer device 104 is a wireless telephone, a mobile information terminal, a smart card, or any other type of device. The customer device 104 includes a component that stores the profile information described above and includes a component that transmits the profile information to the device reader 106 of an appropriate type. Examples of the components of the customer device 104 and an example of the profile information stored in the customer device 104 are illustrated in FIG. 20 and will be described later with reference to FIG. 20.
The device reader 106 is a component used to read out information to be transmitted by the customer device 104. For example, the device reader 106 can read out information on a device that meets the ISO (International Standard Organization) 14443 standard for contactless IC cards or a device that uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. In one example, the customer device 104 is a wireless telephone equipped with the NFC technology, and as the customer 102 “swipes” the wireless telephone within a few inches of the device reader 106, the device reader 106 can read out information from the customer device 104. However, the content described above is merely an example, and it suffices that the device reader 106 can read out information from the customer device 104 of any type by using any type of technology or communication mechanism.
Profile information 108 is information stored in the customer device 104. The profile information 108 includes the name of the customer 102, payment information such as a credit card number, or any other information. An example of specific information of such profile information 108 will be described later with reference to FIG. 20. The customer device 104 transmits the profile information 108 to the device reader 106.
In an example of a commercial transaction scenario, a purchase of merchandise is accomplished through a plurality of different components including the device reader 106 and the point of sales (POS) component 110. The POS component 110 is a cash register, a retail kiosk, or any other type of device or system used to facilitate sales. Typically, for example, in a case of a bricks-and-mortar store, a restaurant, or the like, the POS component 110 is installed at a location where the commercial transaction in which the customer is physically engaging takes place and used for the commercial transaction. A scenario of a location where the customer is physically engaging is in a contrasting relationship to an internet purchase or electronic commerce scenario or other scenario where a remote commercial transaction is carried out over a network.
As such, FIG. 17 illustrates, as one example, a case in which a variety of elements are installed altogether in the same physical location 160, such as a store, enclosed by the dotted line. For example, in a case in which the POS component 110 is a cash register, items of merchandise to be purchased or sold and the prices of those items of merchandise are entered into the POS component 110. The entry into the POS component 110 is carried out through a keyboard, a barcode reader, or any other type of mechanism. Alternatively, the stated information is acquired by accessing a PLU (Price Look-Up) table in which the items of merchandise, the prices of the items of merchandise, and so on are registered in advance.
The device reader 106 and the POS component 110 are configured as separate components that are interconnected. In another example, the device reader 106 is embedded in the POS component 110.
FIG. 17 illustrates a case in which the POS component 110 receives a display 111 of information on items of merchandise to be sold/items of merchandise to be purchased 112 and/or item prices 114 of these items. The display 111 of the information on the items 112 and the item prices 114 can be received in any method in the POS component 110. In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, the POS component 110 can connect, for example, to a database (PLU table) that includes a catalog of items that can be sold and the item prices of these items. Then, the items 112 of merchandise to be sold/purchased can be entered through a keyboard, the device reader 106, a touch pad, or the like, and the item prices 114 can be searched by accessing the database. Alternatively, in an example in which the POS component 110 is a cash register, a cashier can directly enter the item prices 114 into the cash register.
Upon the completion of a commercial transaction, the POS component 110 generates an electronic receipt 116. The POS component 110 may generate a partial receipt composed of items excluding payment information that is to be added later by the device reader 106 when the payment for the charge is collected from the customer 102. The electronic receipt 116 may include, for example, purchased items 152, item price(s) 154, a total monetary amount 156 of the purchased items, payment information 158 (e.g., the monetary amount paid for the purchase and the form of payment), or any other type of information.
The electronic receipt 116 is transmitted from the POS component 110 to the receipt store 118 on the cloud 120. Typically, the cloud 120 is provided by a remote device and software and constitutes a collection of functions and/or services that interact with each other via a network. The receipt store 118 can receive the electronic receipt 116 and execute various operations in relation to the electronic receipt 116. For example, the customer 102 can be provided with the contact address of the electronic receipt 116 for the customer 102 and presented with the electronic receipt 116 for the customer 102. Thus, the customer 102 can find various facts (e.g., the type of the purchased items, the purchased items, the monetary amount paid, and so on) included in the electronic receipt 116.
FIG. 17 illustrates, as an example, a case in which the POS component 110 transmits the electronic receipt 116 via the cloud 120, but the electronic receipt 116 can also be transmitted to the receipt store 118 with the use of a method that does not involve the cloud 120, such as a dedicated circuit. The electronic receipt 116 is transmitted to the receipt store 118 by various components of the electronic receipt system 100. FIG. 17 illustrates an example in which the POS component 110 transmits the electronic receipt 116 to the receipt store 118.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 18 or FIG. 19, for example, the electronic receipt 116 can also be transmitted by another component of the electronic receipt system 100, such as the device reader 106 or the customer device 104. FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 are system configuration diagrams each illustrating an example in which a component other than the POS component 110 of the electronic receipt system 100 transmits the electronic receipt 116 to the receipt store 118. FIG. 18 illustrates a case in which the device reader 106 transmits the electronic receipt 116, and FIG. 19 illustrates a case in which the customer device 104 transmits the electronic receipt 116. In FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, the reference characters given to the components designate the identical components illustrated in FIG. 17. However, the reference characters 152, 154, 156, and 158 designating the detailed items in the electronic receipt 116 are not repeated and thus omitted in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19.
In the case illustrated in FIG. 18, the POS component 110 generates a partial receipt 122. The partial receipt 122 does not include payment information but includes the other information included in the electronic receipt 116 illustrated in FIG. 17. The payment information can be inserted to the partial receipt 122 by the device reader 106 and reflect a payment made by the customer 102 after the POS component 110 ensures that the sum total for the purchase has been paid. The partial receipt 122 is used by the device reader 106 and takes a receipt format in which the payment information is omitted, and the purchased merchandise and/or the sum total can be expressed in several formats.
The device reader 106 generates the electronic receipt 116 of an appropriate format upon the payment having been received by referring to the partial receipt 122. Specifically, upon receiving the partial receipt 122 and then generating the electronic receipt 116, the device reader 106 transmits the electronic receipt 116 to the receipt store 118 via the cloud 120.
In the case illustrated in FIG. 19, similarly to the case illustrated in FIG. 18, the POS component 110 transmits the partial receipt 122 to the device reader 106. The device reader 106 then adds the payment information to the partial receipt 122 and generates the electronic receipt 116. The device reader 106 transmits the generated electronic receipt 116 to the customer device 104. The customer device 104 transmits the electronic receipt 116 to the receipt store 118 via the cloud 120. It is to be noted that the foregoing descriptions merely illustrate examples, and the POS component 110 can also generate a complete electronic receipt 116.
Next, an example of a block configuration of the customer device 104 illustrated in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 17 will be described with reference to FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a block configuration diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of the customer device 104 illustrated in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 17, and the customer device 104 includes components that are used to store and transmit various pieces of profile information 108.
The customer device 104 illustrated in FIG. 20 includes at least a storage component 1002, a communication component 1004, and a processor 1006, and the profile information 108 is stored in the storage component 1002. The customer device 104 is, for example, a mobile terminal, a mobile phone, a portable calculator, a smartphone, a smart card, or any other type of device.
The storage component 1002 may be constituted by any of a flash memory, a read only memory, a volatile memory, a disk, and the like. The communication component 1004 can be used for the customer device 104 to carry out unidirectional communication or bidirectional communication with the world outside the customer device 104. For example, the communication component 1004 can include a wired or wireless network interface, a serial port, a parallel port, an antenna, or any other type of one or more communication components that are each stand-alone or combined with each other. The processor 1006 is a constituent element used for the customer device 104 to execute a command. The command is stored in the storage component 1002 and then executed or received via the communication component 1004 and then executed.
The profile information 108 is stored in the storage component 1002, as described above. FIG. 20 illustrates various types of information included in the profile information 108. However, the specific information illustrated in FIG. 20 is an example, and generally the profile information 108 may include any type of information. Furthermore, information to be transmitted when the customer device 104 transmits the profile information 108 may include the entire profile information on the customer stored by the customer device 104 or may be some subsets of the profile information (or convolution information such as a hash) on the customer.
The profile information 108 illustrated in FIG. 20 includes a customer name 1008, a contact address 1010, and payment account information 1012. The customer name 1008 is expressed in the form of a text string. The contact address 1010 includes any type of contact address, such as a telephone number 1014, an IM (Instant Messenger) address 1016, an email address 1018, a receipt store customer identifier 1019, or any other type of contact address. Any one or more of the contact addresses allow the location to which an electronic receipt for the customer is to be transmitted to be identified.
For example, in a case in which the customer 102 subscribes to a receipt store service and the receipt store service provides the customer 102 with a location to which the electronic receipt 116 is to be transmitted, such as an email address, an IM address, an SMS (Short Message Service) address, or a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), the location to which the electronic receipt 116 is transmitted is included in the contact address 1010. In one example, FIG. 17 illustrates a case in which the location to which the electronic receipt 116 is transmitted as identified by the contact address 1010 is set as the communication address of the receipt store 118.
The payment account information 1012 is information for identifying various types of accounts to be used to pay for the charge when the customer purchases merchandise. The payment account information 1012 includes credit card information 1020, household account information 1022 (e.g., an in-store account number), a gift certificate 1024, a micropayment structure or lump-sum payment account 1026, or any other type of account information such as electronic money.
Next, a process in which the electronic receipt 116 is generated in the POS component 110 and the device reader 106 in the system configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to FIG. 21. FIG. 21 illustrates a process example in which a commercial transaction is executed and the electronic receipt 116 (or a portion of the electronic receipt 116) is generated in the process of generating the electronic receipt 116 in the POS component 110 and the device reader 106 in the system configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 17. In the generation example illustrated in FIG. 21, illustrated is a process in which the electronic receipt 116 or the partial receipt 122 that does not include the payment information is generated in the POS component 110.
In FIG. 21, first, the customer 102 operates the customer device 104 to transmit the profile information from the customer device 104 to the device reader 106 (sequence S502). In a case in which the customer device 104 is a portable wireless telephone, for example, the customer name, the account number, the contact address, and so on are stored in the customer device 104 as the profile information. This profile information is read out through the operation of the customer 102 and transmitted to the device reader 106. The transmission can be carried out with the use of any type of data transmission technology, such as the NFC technology, a wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or an optical barcode.
Upon receiving the profile information transmitted from the customer device 104 (sequence S504), the device reader 106 transmits the received profile information to the POS component 110 (sequence S506). For example, the device reader 106 is connected to the POS component 110 via a cable and can operate as an interface that relays information between the customer device 104 and the POS component 110.
Upon receiving the profile information (sequence S508), the POS component 110 receives display information on the items of purchased merchandise purchased by the customer 102, the prices of the items, and/or other sales data (sequence S510). Herein, the POS component 110 may receive the display information on the items of purchased merchandise, the prices of the items, and other sales data through any reception method.
The POS component 110 generates the electronic receipt 116 or the partial receipt 122 for the commercial transaction (sequence S512). As described above, the POS component 110 can generate the complete electronic receipt 116 for the commercial transaction and can also generate the partial receipt 122 with information excluding the payment information from the information used for the electronic receipt 116.
Next, a process up to a point when the electronic receipt 116 is transmitted to the receipt store 118 from the customer device 104 in the system configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 19 will be described with reference to FIG. 22. FIG. 22 is an illustration for describing an example of a process up to a point when the electronic receipt 116 generated in the POS component 110 and the device reader 106 in the system configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 19 is transmitted to the receipt store 118 from the customer device 104. FIG. 22 illustrates a case in which the partial receipt 122 that does not include the payment information is generated in the POS component 110 and the complete electronic receipt 116 is generated with the payment information and other information added in the device reader 106.
In FIG. 22, first, the POS component 110 transmits the generated partial receipt 122 to the device reader 106 (sequence S802). Upon receiving the partial receipt 122 (sequence S804), the device reader 106 then adds the payment information and other information to the partial receipt 122 to generate the complete electronic receipt 116 (sequence S806). The device reader 106 transmits the generated electronic receipt 116 to the customer device 104 (sequence S808).
Upon receiving the electronic receipt 116 (sequence S810), the customer device 104 stores a copy of the received electronic receipt 116 into the storage component 1002 (a memory or a storage device) of the customer device 104 itself (sequence S812). Thereafter, the customer device 104 transmits the electronic receipt 116 to the receipt store 118 on the cloud 120 (sequence S814).
The electronic receipt 116 can be transmitted to the receipt store 118 from the customer device 104 with the use of any mechanism. For example, in a case in which the customer device 104 is a wireless telephone, the electronic receipt 116 can be transmitted with the use of a variety of technologies that can be used to transmit information to a wireless telephone or to receive information from a wireless telephone, such as 3G (The Third Generation) technology (sequence S816), wireless LAN technology or Wi-Fi technology (sequence S818), Enhanced Data rates for GSM (registered trademark) Evolution (EDGE) technology (sequence S820), Short Message Service (SMS) technology (sequence S822), or any other mechanism.
The use of the electronic receipt 116 generated through the system as described above and stored in the receipt store 118 enables the customer to easily acquire information on the purchased merchandise, and the customer can check, for example, whether the entire purchased merchandise purchased while traveling is in the bag storing goods.